bhvexille

Well honestly I wasnt to go to the best school I can get into (my ranking system is based on the judges/lawyers assessment score on usnews), and I have "decent" #s, but nothing else to help me get admitted to law school.. in fact I dropped out of a master's degree during the first semester.. so that will work against me..

So really I just want to get into the best school I can get into (and Northwestern is up there!), but you guys are scaring me away from NU.. maybe my app fee would be better invested somewhere else?

Northwestern is an outstanding school, consistently ranked at least in the top 15 in every single ranking system I've seen. It is deffinitely one of my top choices and I have heard good things about it from a variety of sources. In my opinion, the work experience preference is more about making sure that people have thought through the decision to attend law school, rather than encouraging a different mind set. Even if you worked at some BS job for 1 year, that's still 1 year you had to consider whether you really want to be a lawyer, or simply move up in your current career, as well as 1 year to know what having a "real" job is like.. Many Adcomms when interviewed, have commented that they prefer applicants with a little WE just because they have had to think through their decision a bit more. That being said, good numbers will get you in anywehre, including NU. Don't let one or two people bashing the supposed "Business School" feeling of Northwestern scare you off.

hey i was just wondering if nu would consider working a year as a noncommissioned officer in iraq during my senior year as enough valid work experience. i was going to graduate this december but i got caught up with the war for 16 months so i wont graduate tell next december and i would really like to jump straight into law school. i also would like to attend a place like nu where alot of the students r a little older and more mature even though i will still be fairly young. on a side note how much do u think serving in iraq will give me a boost at the t14 schools. i heard that some schools give vfw's um status. thanks in advance for your help

Well Verbal I for one can't imagine that they wouldn't count it, but I am not an adcomm at NU so my opinion really doesn't matter. I'm sure that if you address this fact they will see it as sufficient WE, but I am skeptical of veterans getting URM status. I'd venture to guess that it is more of a tie-breaker.

NU is one of my top choices, and in large part because of their progressive admissions policies. Every school out there claims to evaluate candidates on more than just numbers...and for most schools that is total horse****. NU, however, has stepped up to the plate and interviews almost every candidate. Who else does that ?(the answer is of course nobody). In addition, having worked for a while I feel my WE has made me a much more complete, capable candidate. This is of course debatable, but what is not debatable is this: NU spends much more time and money evaluating their candidates on a non-numbers only basis than any other university. Oh, and they're also a top 10 school, which doesn't hurt.

There is a very good reason for hiring people with work experience besides being "a gimmick."

Like it or not, most attorneys that go on to work in the industry (not trial lawyers, etc.) are there to make money for their employers. What frequently happens is lawyers view themselves as the last line of defense against any harm/damage to a company. For example, when drafting a contract, we all know that lawyers will spend ridiculous amounts of time to make sure that not a thing slipped by, and that the company is fully protected.

While being prudent is fine, there is a huge financial loss that comes when doing business like this - almost every company you deal with will demand(and usually get) a large financial payment for any sort of "indemnity" or protection clause you include. Sorry to go business/legal on you, but that is the point of getting people with WE to come to law school - they MUST be in a situation to see how their work impacts others, not have seen it from tv shows/movies.

I think NW probably has a much better (and more enjoyable) environment, but in terms of job security, Chicago has a large advantage. It has a smaller class, and when combined with its stellar prestige (attorney-judge reputation rating tied with Yale), pretty much everyone gets a top-notch job.

UC also places more SCOTUS clerks than Stanford, and is one of the 2 or 3 most national schools in terms of placement.

NW, while certainly a top 14, is not a traditional top 10. UC, on the other hand, is a traditional top 5.

That said, I might still take NW over Chicago for the apparent environment alone.

There is a very good reason for hiring people with work experience besides being "a gimmick."

Like it or not, most attorneys that go on to work in the industry (not trial lawyers, etc.) are there to make money for their employers. What frequently happens is lawyers view themselves as the last line of defense against any harm/damage to a company. For example, when drafting a contract, we all know that lawyers will spend ridiculous amounts of time to make sure that not a thing slipped by, and that the company is fully protected.

While being prudent is fine, there is a huge financial loss that comes when doing business like this - almost every company you deal with will demand(and usually get) a large financial payment for any sort of "indemnity" or protection clause you include. Sorry to go business/legal on you, but that is the point of getting people with WE to come to law school - they MUST be in a situation to see how their work impacts others, not have seen it from tv shows/movies.

Like i said, it might help placing graduates with corporate employers. But these jobs are at the bottom of the prestige heap for T14 law school graduates. Random WE does not help people get or be better at big firm jobs, academic positions or clerkships. These are the things that make a law school's reputation. Not whether or not some guy in the middle-bottom of his class got hired as a junior corporate council and saved his employer some money because he had a few years of WE. This is why it's a gimmick. No one cares about this sort of thing and catering to corporate employers comes at the expense (or percieved expense) of catering to big firms and academia. That is what could hurt a law school's reputation.

Anyway, it's doubtful that someone with a few years at an entry level job/standard promotions would even be better at this than someone who went straight to law school out of college.

1. I care about this sort of thing (I would like a job upon graduation), and USNEWS cares about placement rates. These are the most important rankings, for better or worse.

2. There has been no loss of student body quality in the NU incoming class. LSAT scores are higher than ever and GPA's are still quite strong. These are the same students who populate the other top schools, but with the addition of WE.

3. It is a huge, unfounded leap of logic to think that WE does not help in any other venue. If you were a judge, and you had two qualified candidates to choose from, but one of them had spent four years working in a campaign office in Capitol Hill, would you really think this candidate is not helped by this experience?

4. Is it really doubtful that these people will be better at their positions (whatever those positions may be)? Would you be willing to say that you are just as good at dealing with people and understanding economic, political, and social issues now as you were three years ago? If both NU and, say, UMICH students have the same great scholastic achievements, but the NU student has two years WE, how can this not be an advantage?

I just don't think this is a gimmick at all. I think NU truly believes in this policy.